"This is a club with the infrastructure, history and support to be a top six side in the Premiership."We have the history, support and infrastructure to be a top one side.
Fair comment Dave but there are people who think Small heath or Leeds are 'top' clubs. The reality is-any of the current contenders could change places with the fading clubs with the same kind of mismanagement and poor ownership.Manure's rise really began with Martin Edwards and not the loads-a money of a rich benefactor.
Quote from: Billy Walker on February 19, 2012, 11:40:52 AM"This is a club with the infrastructure, history and support to be a top six side in the Premiership."We have the history, support and infrastructure to be a top one side.One league title in 99 years. One FA Cup in 92. One European trophy ever. Oh yes, the support. How often in that time have we been in the top six best-supported teams in the country? That's the reality.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on February 19, 2012, 11:45:08 AMQuote from: Billy Walker on February 19, 2012, 11:40:52 AM"This is a club with the infrastructure, history and support to be a top six side in the Premiership."We have the history, support and infrastructure to be a top one side.One league title in 99 years. One FA Cup in 92. One European trophy ever. Oh yes, the support. How often in that time have we been in the top six best-supported teams in the country? That's the reality. Against that:-Most successful club in English football up until the 1970's-Record FA Cup wins up until 1991-Provided more England internationals than any other club-Still the 4th most successful club in English footballAnd as far as gates are concerned, we had the highest gate in the country over a season as recently as 1994 and 1995. We also managed 40,000+ in the old Third division and 48000 v Liverpool in the FA Cup in 1988 - as a Second Division side. With a bit of forward momentum (and no trophies) we averaged 40,000 as recently as 07/08. Probably no other 'big' club sees numbers fluctuate as much as we do, I'd readily concede that. But we can get the numbers. It's keeping them that's the issue.
Some fair comments there and yes he's correct about our potential. But until the club rediscovers it's purpose and drive that's all it will be. Potential. I might be in the minority here but the way that the club is being run at the moment makes me look back on the Ellis years with a certain sense of fondness. At least he attended all the games, and although he made some bad managerial appointments ala Turner, McNeil and Venglos he would never have been dumb enough to appoint the current clown from S.H.A. Anyway reading further down the article he then goes on to slate our fine city. Now I've been to London many times but the cockneys seam to think it's some kind of oasis in a sea of shit. Yes the central area is interesting but by god there's some areas that are literally no go zones. I currently now live in Greater Manchester and yes the city centre is nice but the rest of the place is pretty dire to be honest, and the same applies to Liverpool. So why is it only Brum seems to get slated?
Quote from: Rico on February 19, 2012, 09:20:22 AMSome fair comments there and yes he's correct about our potential. But until the club rediscovers it's purpose and drive that's all it will be. Potential. I might be in the minority here but the way that the club is being run at the moment makes me look back on the Ellis years with a certain sense of fondness. At least he attended all the games, and although he made some bad managerial appointments ala Turner, McNeil and Venglos he would never have been dumb enough to appoint the current clown from S.H.A. Anyway reading further down the article he then goes on to slate our fine city. Now I've been to London many times but the cockneys seam to think it's some kind of oasis in a sea of shit. Yes the central area is interesting but by god there's some areas that are literally no go zones. I currently now live in Greater Manchester and yes the city centre is nice but the rest of the place is pretty dire to be honest, and the same applies to Liverpool. So why is it only Brum seems to get slated?True doug made some bad mistakes during his reign , but at least he had the balls to admit to his mistakes and fire the manager he had appointed if need be, i doubt lerner will do the same and fear we will stumble from crisis to crisis under his and faulkners so called leadership.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on February 19, 2012, 11:45:08 AMQuote from: Billy Walker on February 19, 2012, 11:40:52 AM"This is a club with the infrastructure, history and support to be a top six side in the Premiership."We have the history, support and infrastructure to be a top one side.One league title in 99 years. One FA Cup in 92. One European trophy ever. Oh yes, the support. How often in that time have we been in the top six best-supported teams in the country? That's the reality. True, but I'd argue winning a trophy pretty much every decade of our existence, finishing in the top two seventeen times, winning every domestic trophy in the land multiple times, winning the biggest club trophy in world football and residing in a city about the same size as a Munich or Milan suggests we have the pedigree, potential and everything else to be challenging for the top, top prizes. And, of course, we gave league football to the world - we are wrapped up in the fabric of the game like no other modern club.The reality is that compared to clubs that have won more FA Cups and leagues this past century, we have had absolute duffers in the Chairman's chair. Well meaning and likeable, for sure, but duffers nonetheless. There has been no bank-rolling of trophies, no record transfer fees shelled out, no statements of ambition or intent. Our Chairmen simply haven't been up to the job.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on February 19, 2012, 11:45:08 AMQuote from: Billy Walker on February 19, 2012, 11:40:52 AM"This is a club with the infrastructure, history and support to be a top six side in the Premiership."We have the history, support and infrastructure to be a top one side.One league title in 99 years. One FA Cup in 92. One European trophy ever. Oh yes, the support. How often in that time have we been in the top six best-supported teams in the country? That's the reality. I was browsing through your 'Champions' book this morning to re-read the chapter on Eamonn Deacy and in your preface you called us ''the richest story in football history''.
I have always been very pro Lerner and to a very large degree I still am. However, I think Villa's drift and Randy Lerner's drift further and further into the background are the same thing.The one thing Lerner has not done which was very much in his power to do is give us a board with football balls. The recent landscape of the club is dominated by bad board decisions.If I had it in my power to change just one thing which has happened at Villa Park since O'Neill walked out it would be to have the board stand up to O'Neill and tell the club's side of the story.It makes me curl up with anger, with disgust, with shame, and with embarassment on days like yesterday when Martin O'Neill is able to strut the stage of British football as a superhero endowed with divine talents somewhere between a latter day Joan of Arc and Galahad whose heart was pure.I accept that a defeat at a tribunal may well have been on the cards but some fights you have to fight regardless of the odds. You have to tell it how it is, not shuffle off down Spin Alley.The sun went behind a cloud over Villa Park not the day that O'Neill walked or the day that Stoke equalized or the day Houllier's heart missed a beat or the day Randy Lerner flew to Corsica. It was the day we decided that O'Neill's claims for wrongful dismissal should not be contested. From that day onwards the legend that without Messiah Martin we are nothing has spread like a malignant fungus.Any chance of a rebirth for the club was stillborn with the appointment of a manager who preferred to be linked with Liverpool followed by a manager who came with more baggage than Ryanair.I hope that the the rediscovery of ourselves is not in the Championship but I cannot see any other wake up call being loud enough to wake the sleepwalker.